Turf Tips >>>
The Smart Yards App — Turn Your Average Yard Into a Smart Yard By Dave Han, Ph.D., Auburn University & Alabama Cooperative Extension System
Al ab am a Tu rf Tim es >>> S umm er 20 13
This
spring, the Alabama Cooperative Extension System launched a new app for both Android and iOS smart phones: the Smart Yards app. The new app is free and can be downloaded from the Google Play Store (Android) or the App Store (iOS). Go to www. aces.edu/home-garden/lawn-garden/smartyards/ for a link to each respective download, or search for “Smart Yards.” Developed with the Southern landscape in mind, this app contains information on the major Southern lawn grasses (bermudagrass, centipedegrass, St. Augustinegrass, tall fescue and zoysiagrass), with a general description of each grass, photographs, mowing height and fertilizer recommendations and an overview of common pest problems. A section on pruning gives advice for both trees and shrubs. The app includes detailed descriptions and photos to illustrate common pruning cuts on trees, and it gives advice on when to prune. For shrubs, the app includes detailed explanations of several pruning techniques, including thinning, hedging and heading back. The “May” rule for determining the correct time to prune is explained. The water section of the app shows how to protect local surface water from non-point-source pollution (including my favorite piece of advice: sweep up fertilizer and clippings from driveways and streets. If only more of us did that!). It also explains how to create and care for rain gardens to capture and slow down excess water flowing across a yard. The final topic covered in the water section is how to build and maintain rain barrels to let homeowners catch and store the free water that falls on their property, including a link to a video of rain barrel construction. The Smart Yards app is intended to be a one-stop shop for basic information on yard work. I hope that you and your clients will find it useful. The free version will be supplemented in the near future with an expanded, pay version of the app that will include features such as fertilizer calculators, sprayer calibration information, links to the soil testing lab and more. For more information on the Smart Yards program, visit http://www.aces.edu/pubs/docs/A/ANR-1359/ ANR-1359.pdf. 24